Names of 27 men believed to have been executed in Chechnya published

The names of 27 men believed to have been killed during in Chechnya’s anti-gay purge have been published by a Russian newspaper.

Novaya Gazeta, the publication which first reported on rumours of an anti-LGBT purge in the Russian republic in April, has revealed for the first time the names of dozens of men its believes were executed in a single night by Chechen authorities.

Citing two unidentified sources, the paper claims the men were shot in an illegal mass execution by Chechen security officials in the city of Grozny on the night of 25-26 January, after being detained without charge for several weeks.

The report states that a source within the Interior Ministry provided the newspaper with the names of suspected victims, and that its journalists have been unable locate any of them.

It adds that it cannot confirm whether the victims were gay or detained as part of an anti-gay crackdown in the region.

The youngest alleged victims were aged just 18 at the time of the killings.

The massacre reportedly took place in the Chechen capital of Grozny on the night of January 25-26

Novaya Gazeta says that as many as 56 men may have lost their lives in the massacre, and that victims’ bodies were “taken to various cemeteries, including Christian ones, where they were buried in hastily dug graves.”

The paper says it took the decision to publish the list of names of those suspected to have been killed following the Russian government’s failure of to properly investigate the claims of state-sponsored killings.

It adds that it has passed the names along with the rest of its findings to the Russian Investigative Committee, and called on the body to open a criminal investigation.

Chechnya’s Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov has repeatedly denied reports of state-sponsored violence against Chechnya’s gay community, going as afar as to deny the existence of gay men the region altogether.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has denied reports of an anti-gay purge.

 

The mass detention of up to 200 men in Chechnya reportedly began in mid-December 2016, with raids carried in the Grozny, Kurchaloy and Shali districts.

According to earlier reports and survivor testimonies, victims were detained together in makeshift prisons, where they were tortured, beaten and killed by security forces.

The names of those men believed to have been killed in Grozy on the night of January 25-26 are listed below, along with their date of birth:

Abdulmezhidov Adam Isayevich (May 27, 1987)

Abumuslimov Apti Hasanovich (June 2, 1989)

Abdulkerimov Said-Ramzan Ramzanovich (March 25, 1990)

Alimkhanov Islam Alievich (July 6, 1998)

Abubakarov Adam Dzhabrailovich (May 5, 1995)

Bergaev Ismail Shadidovich (August 19, 1998)

Dasaev Adam Ilyasovich (June 16, 1988)

Jabaev Zelimkhan Khizirovich (December 18, 1993)

Ilyasov Adam Khuseinovich (September 22, 1997)

Lugaev Rizvan Said-Khamzatovich (September 13, 1987)

Malikov Rizvan Agdanovich (June 1, 1990)

Muskiev Mohma Turpalovich (19 July 1988)

Mussanov Temirlan Ahmadovich (April 28, 1986)

Ozdiev Usman Vakhaevich (December 24, 1989)

Rashidov Doku Ibrahimović (May 30, 1995)

Syriev Magomed Musayevich (February 23, 1993)

Soltamanov Ismail Ezer-Aliyevich (March 30, 1994)

Suleimanov Magomed Arbeevich (January 3, 1987)

Tuchaev Ahmed Ramzanovich (February 23, 1987)

Khabuev Khamzat Slaudinovich (February 14, 1993)

Hakimov Alvi Aslambekovich (November 16 1992)

Khamidov Shamil Ahmedovich (November 14, 1986)

Tsikmaev Ayub Sultanovich (April 4, 1984)

Shapiev Muslim Isayevich (November 28, 1989)

Eskarbiev Saikhan Vahamsoltovich (May 23, 1992)

Yusupov Sakhab Isayevich (January 19, 1990)

Yusupov Shamkhan Shaykhovich (June 17, 1988)